Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Duelepink.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Duelepinkxe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia is a product of a mutation induction program conducted by the Inventor in Rheinberg, Germany. The objective of the program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars with uniform plant habit and attractive flower bract coloration.
The new Poinsettia originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Duewi, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,334, to gamma radiation in Rheinberg, Germany in 1998. The new Poinsettia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of irradiated plants in a controlled environment in Rheinberg, Germany in 1998. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminal cuttings taken at Rheinberg, Germany since 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Duelepinkxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Duelepinkxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Inflorescences with dark pink-colored flower bracts.
2. Dark green-colored leaves with green-colored petioles.
3. Uniform and rounded plant habit.
4. Early flowering; response time, about eight weeks.
5. Large number of cyathia per corymb.
6. Excellent post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the parent cultivar in flower bract color as plants of the cultivar Duewi had red-colored flower bracts.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rheinberg, Germany, plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia were shorter than plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia had larger leaves and longer petioles than plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink.
3. Plants of the new Poinsettia flowered later than plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink.
4. Flower bract color of plants of the new Poinsettia did not fade as quickly as flower bract color of plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink.
5. Plants of the new Poinsettia had larger cyathia clusters and more cyathia per corymb than plants of the cultivar Malibu Pink.